I. Field
The present disclosure relates to card games, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for playing a dice-less Craps game.
II. Background
Craps is one of the most popular dice games played in the casinos of Nevada and New Jersey. Players and spectators alike enjoy the fast-paced action provided by Craps.
However, in some areas of the country dice games are prohibited, while other types of games, such as card games, slot machines, or keno, may be permitted. In such jurisdictions, the absence of Craps on the casino floor may be missed.
Card games designed to replicate dice games are known in the art. For example, the Official World Encyclopedia of Sport and Games, 1979, discloses a craps game that is played with a deck of cards.
The game uses a special deck of 48 cards, consisting of two sets of each of the denominations Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The numerical value of the cards corresponds to the indicia on the faces of two dice.
The shooter deals two cards from the top of the deck face up onto the table, constituting a throw. The value of the two cards added together is a “roll” in the same way as the two dice in dice craps. Play follows the basic rules for Craps, where the first two cards on a come-out give either a natural (7 or 11), a craps (2, 3, or 12), or a point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10).
After every come-out throw the two cards are shuffled back into the deck by the shooter, and the deck is cut. This happens even if no decision has been reached (e.g. if a point has been thrown). If the shooter then still has to make a point, he deals further throws, but does not shuffle these back into the deck.
This continues until he makes the point or sevens out. The entire deck is then shuffled together and cut. If, on a point, the entire deck is exhausted, the deck is reshuffled and cut by the shooter; he then continues, trying for the same point.
The prior art card games suffer from certain disadvantages, however. For example, since cards are not returned to the deck while the shooter is trying to make a point, the odds of the game are not equivalent to a true Craps dice game since the rolls represented by the used cards are not available.